AGRI Biz

What’s more important, winning championships or having a high character team? One hopes that the two mesh nicely together, but what is the right answer when you have to overlook serious character flaws to field a championship team?  Is it then worth it? I’ve seen a lot of comments saying that Ben Roethlisberger should settle out of court and move on. There is plenty of wisdom in that for him. But at what point do ...

The Steelers' playoff hopes have been written off.á This is understandable since they have struggled so mightily over the last five games.á But it is still premature.á They really don't need any miracles to get into the playoffs.á If they win out (which might be the biggest miracle required), they'll have a decent shot. They are solely playing for the sixth seed at this point and are competing for that last spot ...

Mike Tomlin seemed bulletproof for much of the season. With a few exceptions, very few people were willing to criticize him openly, even as nearly everyone was machine gunning Bruce Arians with a mix of fair and well-earned criticism and toxic venom not fit for print. Once it became clear that the season was lost following an inexplicable and humiliating humbling at the hands of the Browns, the floor fell out ...

We are now into December, and Christmas approaches. As each week passes, the SteelersÆ Christmas list gets a little longer. Here is a SteelersÆ Christmas List as I see it, one wish for each of the twelve daysáof Christmas.á á 1. On the first day of Christmas, the Steelers needed a win. IÆm not sure a team has ever needed a win to get back on track more than these Steelers, ...

How many times do we hear that a team hired a young coach looking for the next Mike Tomlin? It is almost a weekly occurrence while watching a game that features a young coach. After winning a Super Bowl in his second year, Tomlin became something of a rock star celebrity coach and is constantly credited for influencing another franchiseÆs hiring decisions. I like Mike Tomlin. He exudes confidence. He seems like ...

The abomination at Arrowhead was all part of ôthe plan". So was the loss to the Bengals the week earlier. The Steelers have set out to lull the rest of the AFC playoff field into a false sense of security. Any time now, they will spring their trap. After all, no team can possibly give up four kickoff returns in five weeks, right? That must have been intentional. Maybe the special teams were just itching ...

Almost the entire sportswriting universe has turned on Bill Belichick with a vengeance.á Peter King, who I think is aávery good sportswriter,ácalled his decision hubris.ááIt was just Belichick pridefullyáshowing off.á The irony is that if the Patriots had converted the fourth-and-2 and run out the clock, those exact same sportswriters would be gushing about the genius that is Belichick.á They would be saying how he operates at a completely different level.á And ...

The Pittsburgh Steelers served notice to the rest of the league with their 28-10 drubbing of the Broncos in Denver. That is no small feat. They have now beaten two legitimate Super Bowl contenders and likely division winners in back to back games, including a lopsided affair in one of the tougher places to play. This was the murdererÆs row portion of their schedule and they are passing the test with flying ...

The NFLÆs regular season is now eight weeks old. WeÆveáseen enough out of each team to have a pretty good idea which teams are clear-cut elite squads, which teams are maddeningly unpredictable, and which teams just plain arenÆt very good. And then there are the bad news Browns, who are well to the left of that last category. If only they could play the Washington Redskins for 16 straight weeks, they ...

In their next three games, the Steelers will face off against two teams that are yet to lose this year and another team that has already beaten them once.áá á This is effectively the murdererÆs row portion of the schedule, something that would have been impossible to predict at the beginning of the year when the Tennessee Titans game looked like one of the most ominous on the schedule. á And this comes before ...